Monday, January 2, 2012

BNP wants the War Crimes Tribunal to be stopped at once as it is biased

The main opposition BNP yesterday demanded that the government immediately stop the proceedings of the war crimes tribunal.

The party also called on the international community to raise objections to what it said was the tribunal's violation of human rights in an extra-judicial manner.

The world, it said, must put pressure on the government to fulfil the commitments Bangladesh had made through signing international covenants on crimes against humanity.

Flanked by senior party leaders, former law minister Moudud Ahmed read out the demands at a press conference at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters in the capital.

"The BNP has no confidence in this tribunal. It believes that in the existing legal structure, the tribunal is nothing but a servile, rubber-stamp organisation," he said in a written statement.

Moudud observed that it made no sense to legitimise the tribunal's “illegal and unconstitutional trial proceedings by participating in its farcical activities to victimise political opponents”.

Referring to the recommendations of Stephen Rapp, US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, the opposition lawmaker said, "We agree with the recommendations. The tribunal cannot be independent and transparent without implementation of those suggestions."

He then cited some of the recommendations Ambassador Rapp made during his Dhaka tour: the tribunal should define the crimes against humanity; an individual accused of war crimes should get the same time and support as the accused in other cases get to defend themselves; the trial proceedings should be broadcast on television and radio; and foreign lawyers should be allowed in as consultants.

The opposition party also demanded immediate release of its lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, who has been detained on charges of crimes against humanity.

Moudud said, "Salauddin believes it will amount to an extra-judicial killing if he is condemned to death by a biased and one-sided tribunal, depriving him of the fundamental rights he has like any other citizen."

The BNP leader claimed Salauddin had sent 23 applications to the tribunal from jail. While some of those applications had been lying at the Gazipur deputy commissioner's office, the rest had disappeared without trace.

Besides, he said, the tribunal had taken the charges against Salauddin into cognisance in his absence and without giving him any notice. It only had discussions with the prosecution.

Moudud maintained that his party too wanted the “real war criminals” to be tried under the existing laws of the land. However, that trial would have to be conducted though a transparent and impartial legal process, and there must not be any doubt in the public mind about the modalities of the trial.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and members of the party's national standing committee were among those present at the press conference.

source